Can You Still See Me?
by 221b-whovian
Summary: What would happen if Halt never asked for his spare cloak back? What if it just sort of disappeared into Ranger history, only to be remembered years later when a Horace's kid looks through Daddy's old things…


**Can You Still See Me?**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Mr. John Flanagan**

**What would happen if Halt never asked for his spare cloak back? What if it just sort of disappeared into Ranger history, only to be remembered years later when a Horace's kid looks through Daddy's old things…**

I pushed my way through all the dusty boxes, looking for something interesting. I opened one of them, digging through the contents. Inside there was a recipe for rabbit stew, an old pair of boots, a pair of gloves and a cloak. I picked up the last item, inspecting it carefully. It looked just like Uncle Will's!

I shook it out, coughing at the dust it released into the air. There was no denying it, this was a Ranger cloak. The question was, how had Dad gotten it? He was a knight, not a Ranger. I threw it over my shoulders, thinking that I must be practically invisible in this thing!

I hopped down the stairs, running into the living room. "Mommy!" I yelled, "Can you see me?"

Mom turned around, and raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that, Owen? Did Will leave it here?"

I hung my head, it appeared that I wasn't as invisible as I had originally thought. "No. I found it in Daddy's old things."

Mom raised an eyebrow, "Horace!" she called, "Come here!"

Dad walked in, "What do you need, Cassie?"

"Owen seems to have picked up a Ranger cloak. He _says _that he found it in your old things. I think he may need a talking too about lying."

My mouth fell open, I wasn't lying! How could she question my honesty, I never lied! Well… hardly ever.

Dad looked confused for a moment, then his expression cleared. "No, it's mine. Well, I guess it's Halt's, but Owen didn't snitch it from Will or anything."

I breathed a sigh of relief, Mom wasn't very forgiving when it came to lying. Dad crossed the room and fingered the material of the cloak.

He started laughing, Mom looked at him like he was a lunatic, and I couldn't help but feel the same way. Dad wiped some giggle-induced tears from eyes, and said, "Oh, if you had any idea how much annoyance this cloak caused Uncle Will, you would be laughing too, Owen."

Mom rolled her eyes and said, "Speaking of Will, he's coming over tonight. I just got the message, he just returned from some mission in Celtica and needs a place to sleep on his way home."

Daddy's eyes sparkled, "Great! Oh, Cassie, I can finally get Will back for that time at the border…!" He grabbed the cloak and ran into his room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

RA*RA*RA*RA*RA*

A few hours later, Uncle Will showed up. He was soaked from head to toe, and was walking funny. Mom clucked disapprovingly and went to get him some dry clothes. She brought back some of Daddy's old things, it was quite funny to see Uncle Will drowning in them.

Mom had some food sent up, then replaced the bandages on his leg. He protested loudly, telling her he was fine. I giggled as his objections were completely ignored. After a few minutes Dad came out of his room with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Nice outfit, Will." Dad said sarcastically.

Uncle Will glared, "It's not my fault you wear the same size clothes as a walrus! _I _am perfectly normal sized, thank you very much."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Dad replied. "So what were you up to in Celtica?"

Uncle Will shrugged, "Can't talk about it, not even to you guys. It shouldn't be a big deal, but I'm supposed to keep it quiet for now. Do I smell chicken?"

Mom nodded, and gave him his dinner. "Bless you, Cassie." he said, shoveling the food into his mouth.

"So what have you guys been up to?" he asked around a mouthful of carrots.

"Nothing much, Owen just had his fifth birthday, though." Mom replied.

Uncle Will gasped, "Wow! Owen, you're _five years old!_"

I nodded proudly, "Yep! I'm practically grown up!"

He nodded seriously, "Pretty soon you'll be taller than you're dad."

Dad gave him a scathing look, "Something that _you _never accomplished." Uncle Will shrugged, continuing to eat his dinner.

"So, Will, guess what Owen found in my old things today?" Dad asked.

Uncle Will looked at him questioningly, gesturing for him to go on.

"Remember when we were chasing Tennyson and his money-stealing cult about 7 years back?" Dad asked.

"Um… I think so. For some reason I could never get that particular mission out of my head. It might have something to do with the fact that Halt almost _died, _though there was nothing else really memorable about it."

Dad ignored the sarcasm and continued, "Well, Owen found the cloak that Halt let me borrow."

Uncle Will dropped his fork and choked on his food. "Oh, heavens above, please, no!"

My eyes widened at the extreme reaction. Dad stood up and said, "Yeah! Close your eyes, I'll go put it on. Then, when I say, open your eyes and see if you can find me!" Uncle Will rolled his eyes to the heavens before closing them philosophically. I could see Dad was holding in a laugh as he went into room. He came out with the cloak on, and laid down in the middle of the room.

He covered himself with the cloak, though the entire bottom part of his legs stuck out the bottom. Altogether he looked ridiculous and painfully visible.

"Okay! You can look!"

Uncle Will opened his eyes, looked briefly at Dad. He then gave his plate back to Mom, and went into the guest bedroom.

Mom looked down at Dad and said "He went to bed, Horace."

Dad rolled over and started laughing hysterically. Mom and I looked at each other, then followed Uncle Will's example and went to bed.

**Review, please!**


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